Angels announcing important births

Today’s Gospel, Mt. 1: 1-17, at a fleeting glance, seems uninspiring. Who, in God’s name, are these people in Jesus’ genealogy and who cares, was my initial reaction. When it comes right down to it, aren’t Mary and Joseph and David the persons of significance in Jesus ‘ family tree? As we look more deeply, however, we discover that His genealogy, all of it, carries a profound message: no matter how we turn away from God, we count in God’s eyes and are a significant part of salvation history, my own and that of others and vice versa. And, yes, no family, not even Jesus’, is exempt from having a relative, or two or three, who has committed serious sin. We all have come into this world effected by Adam and Eve’s disobedience and are personally vulnerable to the snares Satan sets for us, even if not as blatantly immoral as David’s sin against Uriah. With Mary, we can say: My soul magnifies the Lord, for He, who is mighty has done great things in granting each of us the grace of redemption, as He did David and all of the other shady characters in His genealogy and ours. And I need to remember that even though the shadiness of my sinfulness may pale in comparison to David’s murder of Uriah and attempts to cover up his sexual sin, my sin is also a form of darkness that affects the world in which I live